BS: American Alan Gross in Cuban jail?

Subject: BS: American Alan Gross in Cuban jail?
From: gnu
Date: 13 Sep 11 - 04:02 PM

A snippet from AFP... Former US diplomat and New Mexico governor Bill Richardson said Tuesday he will leave Cuba on Wednesday, disappointed that the government would not let him visit jailed American contractor Alan Gross.

"I'm leaving tomorrow because I haven't been able to visit Gross or discuss his case with the Cuban government. I am very disappointed," he said at a news conference.

Gross, 62, was sentenced in March to 15 years in prison on charges he violated Cuba's "independence or territorial integrity" in a case that has soured US-Cuban relations.

Gross has been in jail since his arrest in 2009 for distributing cellphones and laptops to members of the island's Jewish community under a State Department contract.
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Anuone understand the reasoning for bing jailed? Is it a "spy" type thing?

Subject: RE: BS: American Alan Gross in Cuban jail?
From: GUEST,999
Date: 13 Sep 11 - 04:16 PM

The charges against Mr Gross are to do with Cuba's state security. Jimmy Carter--as trustworthy a president as the US has ever had the wisdom to elect--visited with Gross about 6 months back. At the same time he met with Castro. There seems to be allegations of let's say 'the darker side of clandestine affairs' at work. But, who knows. Gross is Jewish, and whether or not he was distributing phones to the Cuban Jewish community or not, there has never been any love lost between Castro and the Jews. {Possibly the US got caught doing shit it shouldn't--one of those organizations with three letters in it's acronym, but, who knows. The recent requests for his release are based on humanitarian grounds (two of his family have cancer).

In short, I don't know.